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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23706595">To be a monster with Ocean blue eyes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugaKookies_n_Cream/pseuds/SugaKookies_n_Cream'>SugaKookies_n_Cream</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fear the Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alicia Clark is protective, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Cooper is underrated, Dialogue Heavy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Heavy Angst, Jake is a good older brother, Jake plays Doctor for the whole time, Jeremiah Otto is a alcoholic, Jeremiah Otto is a dick, M/M, Madison Clark is protective, Major Character Injury, Major Illness, Near Death Experiences, Nick Clark is protective, Nick/Troy is very slooowwwwwwww, Obsession, Obsessive Behavior, Ofelia is misunderstood, Past Child Abuse, Plot, Poisoning, Post-Apocalypse, Pretty much a 'I love Cooper' fic, References to Drugs, Slow build in main relationship, Sorry I'll start tagging properly now, Troy Otto is crazy, Troy is fucked up, Zombie Apocalypse, and add blood, basically just the reason of why I should have wrote season 4, but minus the fluff, maybe too much plot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:07:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,153</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23706595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugaKookies_n_Cream/pseuds/SugaKookies_n_Cream</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Troy Otto never wept. The man smiled as his world burned. He was a freak- Some called him psychotic, that he had no empathy for the lives he ruined. But Nick disagreed, Troy was like fire to him. When he burned he was unstoppable, he would consume anything he could reach. But like fire he will burn out and be choked out by the smoke he caused in his own wrath. Troy enchanted Nick in every wrong way, he was a monster, a complete animal, but Nick saw his own tendencies in Troy- He saw his own self destructive ways, and that's when Nick realised. Every time he looked into those Ocean blue eyes, not only did he feel like he was staring at possibly the new Apex predator of the ruined world he lived in, he also felt like he was staring at himself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nick Clark &amp; Troy Otto, Nick Clark/Troy Otto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Wolf in a Sheep's Coat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ofelia dragged her shoe-less feet begrudgingly along the dirt trail from the Motel; where the members of the Black Hat Reservation were camped, to the Ranch. Her feet were raw with blisters and her face badly bruised from the beating she took to make her situation look believable. Qaletaqa had full belief this plan would work due to Madison’s empathy for Ofelia, however as she approached closer to the gates and could clearly distinguish the man on patrol by the description given to her, it was Cooper. “Please! I need help”, she cried out to him with a dry and cracking voice. “I’ve been out here for days, and my group is gone!”, she continued as she started to cry out and stumble towards Coop. However, immediately Coop put his hand up signalling for Ofelia to stop, “Hey Ma'am just wait there for me please”, Coop called out before grabbing his radio; which was attached to his vest, and holding down the large button on the side of it, “Hey I need assistance down at the gate, we got a straggler”, Cooper reported before turning his attention back to the woman. “You need water Ma’am?”, he asked, “Oh please- Only if you’ve got any to spare of course!”, Ofelia pleaded and immediately Cooper grabbed his canteen before shaking it indicating he was going to throw it to her and then followed it by doing just that. “Sorry. It’s the policy that we can’t come close to people we don’t know- I would have passed it to you if I could.”, Cooper explained with a sense of guilt for his action. “Oh no- I understand, it’s unsafe to be too trusting out here”, Ofelia stated before drinking greedily from the bottle.</p><p>After a few minutes a truck passed down to the gate, followed by a dune-buggy and the first people to approach the gate were Jeremiah and Madison; both Othelia recognised straight away. “Ofelia? Is that you?”, Madison called out as she exited the ranch and approached the other lady, “Oh my god! It is you!”, and immediately she ran towards the other woman and pulled her into a hug Ofelia was happy to reciprocate. “I’m so glad to see you!”, Ofelia exclaimed as she smiled brightly; not only was Madison a past friend but also her ticket was guaranteed into the ranch. However, as she pulled away from Madison’s hug she was yet again consumed in another by Alicia, “When my mum called out your name I couldn’t believe it! I’m so glad you found us!”, Alicia expressed and finally as Ofelia looked up Nick raised a hand as a greeting and smiled her way, “I see we didn’t try hard enough to lose you”, he joked making Ofelia crack a laugh. “You wish Nick, I’ll like to remind you who my father is-”, Ofelia joked as she approached the young man and hugged him, “-Don’t think you get to miss a hug from me even when I stink”, Ofelia continued and Nick laughed as he returned the hug, “Honestly I thought you wouldn’t want one due to it being the other way round.”, he joked, however the light hearted mood was quickly tarnished as Jeremiah approached the group along with Troy and Jake. “Well, well, well- It’s nice to see a familiar face”, Jeremiah stated gleefully however Ofelia was no fool to the illusion, “Have you two already met?”, Madison asked, and immediately Ofelia knew however she chose to answer this question will affect her chance of entering the ranch. She knew she had to place Jeremiah in a shining light even though he left her for dead a few days ago, “Well kind of… He offered me water when I was passing through the desert”, Ofelia explained and Jeremiah smiled with a fake-warmth at her answer. “Yes, yes- I must say you must be quite the trooper to have lived in such harsh conditions. A real powerhouse!”, he praised, however once Ofelia looked to the brothers both looked unconvinced and she couldn’t help but feel like a bucket of ice-cold water had been splashed down her back. She recognised the smaller of the two, which was the brunette and had a kind face, Jake she thought to herself after remembering Qaletaqa’s description of the two. However she knew Jake wasn’t the issue, Qaletaqa warned her of the other, the taller blonde which stood defiantly beside his older brother, <em>Troy…</em></p><p>
  <em>“He’s a loose cannon”, Qaletaqa stated, “But that’s not why he’s dangerous.. No- That boy can read through bullshit like it was the same bible he was beaten with as a kid. So if this is going to work you must avoid talking to him at all costs. To gain trust with the Ottos turn to Jake, he won’t push you like Troy will or lie to you like Jeremiah. He is your key in making this plan work”, Qaletaqa explained.</em>
</p><p>“How did you get that bruising? It looks nasty”, Jake asked as he folded his arms and tilted his head to the side, “I got attacked by a group yesterday and they stole everything I had”, she explained after rehearsing the explanation multiple times already in her head. “Even your shoes, huh? That sounds familiar”, Troy stated as he played with the handle of the knife that sat in his belt, “And all these days in the sun- But only signs of an old sunburn.”, he continued and metaphorically he had her in his grasp. He didn’t buy her story at all, however before she could even think of something to say, Jeremiah waved Troy off, “That’s enough Troy, she can come into the ranch. It’s okay”, Jeremiah stated with a light chuckle. The tension in the air could only be described as extremely uncomfortable as Troy ran his tongue on the inside of his cheek in annoyance, however his glare did not ease up after he was told to stop with his interrogation. “Come on dear, let’s welcome you into the ranch. I'm sure if you go with Madison she will show you a place you can sleep for tonight. Troy and Jake come to me to the house, I need to talk about the plans for expansion this year”, Jeremiah stated before putting a hand on Troy’s shoulder and pushing him lightly so he turned to his buggy, “Come on Son, let it go”, Jeremiah ordered, and after getting the hint Troy kissed his teeth and went back into the ranch along with Jake and went back to the dune-buggy they arrived on. “Don’t take any notice of Troy- he’s the head of the militia here so he’s going to be like that”, Nick explained before nudging Ofelia’s shoulder. “Come on, we got to show you all the cool stuff- Like I don’t know… Maybe the shower?”, Nick teased making Ofelia playfully shove him before following the others into the ranch. However, although on the outside Ofelia seemed gleeful and relieved to have found her group, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the powder Qaletaqa had told her to slip into the Militia’s coffee this evening. <em>He’s not the person to kill..</em> She thought to herself as Nick helped her to the infirmary,<em> He’s stated multiple times he only wants Jeremiah dead,</em> she reasoned and just like that a weight lifted off her shoulders.</p><p>Up in the Otto house Jake had already been dismissed by Jeremiah from the office to tend to Ofelia’s injuries, leaving Troy, who was lent against the wall, and Jeremiah who was sitting at his desk in the confined room. “Why did you make me drop it, I don’t understand”, Troy stated, “Her story didn’t add up! She said she’s been in the desert since when you saw her but miraculously she isn’t even sunburnt !”, Troy continued. “Troy! That’s enough!”, Jeremiah yelled before taking a drink from his cup of whiskey, “You always try to undermine me Troy and my decisions! I’ve had enough! I couldn’t say no to her because I left her to die in the desert! She can’t be here Troy- She’s not the right type”, the old man exclaimed, and immediately Troy was tense. He knew this situation off by heart by now- Jeremiah gets angry, it’s all his fault and he gets hurt. “But- Why didn’t you let me challenge her then?”, Troy asked quietly as his once sharp and menacing eyes were now wide like a doe looking at the barrel of a gun. “Why?? WHY?! Are you so thick boy?! I couldn’t say no to her as she would have told Madison the lies about me being racist!”, Jeremiah exploded as he stood at his desk to reach for more whiskey, however as he found the bottle to be empty his temper only grew and threw the bottle directly at Troy’s head, making the man duck to be missed. “Just go for fucks sake”, Jeremiah yelled and immediately Troy hastily left the room and shut the door behind him before taking a few seconds to calm himself. “Troy, have you seen Jake?” Alicia asked, resulting in startling the young man and making him snap his head round to face the intruder, however he knew his mistake as he suddenly noticed the sensation of blood dripping down his face from a slice in his right cheek, just missing his already butchered eye. “Oh my god Troy!”, Alicia stated as she covered her mouth with her own hand, however before Alicia could take a look at the deep and clean cut that masked the boy’s cheek Troy quickly raised his shirt and pressed it on the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “He’s in the infirmary…”, Troy muttered as he passed Alicia to go towards his room as if nothing happened, leaving the young girl stunned at what she just had witnessed.</p><p>Alicia rushed through the Infirmary’s opening and immediately looked for a pair of scissors, a roll of silver wire and a surgical needle to hook onto the wire. Most days an incident happens whether in one of the scavenging teams or Militia that required stitches so Alicia knew exactly what she was looking for when it came to Troy. However, she knew there was no way in hell that man would let her see him in this vulnerable state, so quickly she took the supplies and walked over to the bed where Jake was checking Ofelia’s vitals as Nick and Madison stood to keep her company. “Sorry- I need Jake for a moment”, Alicia stated as she approached the group and immediately Jake looked at her, “Just a few minu-”, “It’s urgent Jake”, Alicia punctuated as she shook the supplies in her hand in emphasis and immediately Jake’s eyebrows knitted in concern before he turned back to Ofelia, “It’s fine. I’m sure the other person needs you more”, Ofelia stated warmly and Jake smiled kindly as he retorted, “Let’s hope they don’t need me too badly for their sake”, and as he spoke he turned and walked to the corner where Alicia was now standing. “What’s the meaning of this?”, Jake asked with concern in his voice, “It’s Troy… I went in the house looking for you and all I could hear was Jeremiah and then suddenly I went round the corner and Troy’s just standing at the door-”, Alicia paused and already Jake’s eyes were filled with worry, “-When he turned… His cheek was just completely split open, but- for a moment… He just looked so scared Jake..”, Alicia continued as she recalled meeting Troy’s wide crystal blue eyes, which are usually sharp and menacing. Jake decided he had heard enough, he knew what must have happened- It <em>always</em> happens for Christ’s sake, so he took the supplies Alicia held in her hands and left the infirmary without a word.</p><p>After Jake had left, the scene had not gone unnoticed by Nick who approached Alicia, leaving Ofelia and Madison to talk. “What’s all this about?”, he asked as he followed the sight of Jake rushing up to the Otto house, “If I tell you- You cannot tell mum!”, Alicia pleaded as Nick turned to face his sister. Immediately he knew whatever she must have witnessed must have been serious, Alicia’s face was filled with a mixture of worry and concern, which didn’t line up with any of the events which occured today- That Nick knew of. “Yeah- yeah. Of course, what’s up with the Ottos?”, Nick asked quietly. “Well. I went to go up to the Otto’s house to find Jake for Ofelia, but you already know that part…”, Alicia started and Nick nodded to confirm what she stated, “...However we must have missed each other completely, so I reached the home and all I could hear was Jeremiah yelling about something that had obviously upset him…”, Alicia paused, “Yeah well no one here who joined the ranch after the world went to shit believes the mask he puts up”, Nick stated as he crossed his arms, intrigued at what Alicia had to say. “... Yeah I know- But suddenly I hear this sound like a plate being thrown against the wall, so obviously I went to check it out… And as I rounded the corner towards his office, I just see Troy completely frozen as he held onto the handle of the door. I could see his breathing was racing by the rise and fall of his shoulders. It was almost like he was having a panic attack, and then when I called out asking for Jake, he just snapped his head round and all I could notice was how wide and terrified his eyes looked, and then the blood- Oh god the blood-”, “What blood.. What do you mean Alicia-”, Nick interrupted as Alicia paused once again. “His cheek was completely sliced and he just had blood dripping down his face,his chin, his neck- His everything Nick!”, Alicia finished and between both Nick and Alicia they were silent. “And then he just went back to being Troy, tight lipped- Hard glare- Troy Otto”, Alicia finished allowing Nick to collect his thoughts around the situation. “Alicia it sounds like…”- Nick started but he couldn’t bring himself to say what his mind was screaming at him to say… It was <em>abuse</em>- Troy Otto the king of all kings for being a prick was being abused in his own home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Wounded Predator</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I can only apologise to everyone that had a hard time reading the first chapter's grammar as I just noticed after uploading this chapter that all the formatting such as Italics got removed. :))) Very sorry, probably a load of gibberish. Anywayyyyy now that's out of the way. Yayy the second chapter !!! I have a few days off now from work so hopefully I can pump out a few chapters, as after that there's a large section that is pre-written due to the fact I knew exactly what I wanted to write for that part of the story ages ago. Honestly never have been so excited for a story- And this brings me to my next warning - I have completely fumbled the time line surrounding the Trimbols leaving the ranch and Ofelia joining the ranch so just bare with it (also Luciana, I haven't even decided what I'm doing with her yet), and just note down the change in story line due to my 'excellent' creative writing... ugh hum... hmm... :) Anyway I hope you enjoy this little 1.5k word chapter, I did want to make it longer but when I reached the point I finished on I couldn't miss the opportunity to annoy all my lovely readers by leaving it there. Love you my lovelies :))))))</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When lunch finally came around Nick couldn’t help but look out for a certain blonde that usually sat at the Militia’s table. He knew he shouldn’t be so obvious when messing with a man like Troy and that anybody could figure out the pattern in his behaviour if they were observant enough, but still he couldn’t help himself when he came to the man. “You’re not slick you know?”, Alicia stated as she sat down next to her brother as she put her soup on the table. “I don’t know what you’re talking about..”, Nick responded as a small smirk grew on his face; Alicia had always been a smart kid but ever since the world went to shit it’s like she could read him like an open book. “Jake said he hasn’t left his room, it must be pretty hard to walk back out here after something like that happened”, Alicia continued as she handed a bread roll to her brother who accepted it gratefully. “Don’t Alicia…. Don’t humanise him, he’s an absolute psychopath-”, “Do you believe that? Or is that what mum tells you to believe?”, Alicia interrupted Nick as she looked at her brother with a questioning gaze, and with that Nick sighed and turned his attention back to his long forgotten soup. Around Nick and Alicia everyone else who occupied the ranch ate happily and conversed naturally as if the world wasn’t an absolute shit show outside the Ranch’s gates. However, as Nick looked over to the Militia’s table he found Mike staring at him before he dipped his head to the meal in front of him after being caught by the young man. This encounter intrigued Nick greatly, he always knew Troy and Mike were <em>in the least</em> friends due to the night Troy invited Nick along to go hunting for Boar. Throughout the whole night, Mike seemed to purposely make it known to Nick of the closeness he shared with the young Otto. Whether it being with complimenting Troy on his hunting ability or putting an arm around his shoulder when Nick and Troy caught up with the group. A small part of Nick wondered the extent of his relationship with Troy. Would Mike be jealous if he found out what really happened between Troy and Nick that night ? If he saw how he pinned the young Otto down and held him at gunpoint ? Nick had many questions he wanted to be answered, but as he thought back to that eventful night, he also remembered the smile Troy wore on his face as he was faced with the barrel of his own gun. The man was mad, he was an adrenaline junkie just like Nick, and maybe that’s why he is so caught up over a guy he barely knew.</p><p>As the time for lunch was rounding up to an end Troy was still nowhere to be seen, and on an impulse decision Nick stood from the table and collected his now empty bowl along with his spoon, “Where are you going?”, Alicia asked as she ate her bread roll, and with her question Nick paused, “I’m- Well I just thought that I should get something for Troy”, Nick stated quietly as if he was ashamed to admit his true actions of what he was about to do. “Has he not come down from the house?”, Alicia asked with a knowing smirk that her brother was looking for the Otto throughout the whole of lunch, “Oh shut up- I’m just being nice”, Nick argued with no bite in his voice. However, as he went to clean up his own bowl Alicia asked another question that proved more difficult to answer, “What should I tell Luciana if she returns and you’re still up in the Otto house?”, <em>Fuck</em>, Nick thought to himself, if Luciana knew that he was going out of his way to be nice to Troy he knew it was definitely drive her from the ranch. “Whatever you tell her- Make sure it isn’t the truth”, Nick stated, “She’s already thinking of leaving- If she knows I’m helping him out of all people she’ll-”, “I know. I know, don’t worry about it Nick”, Alicia interrupted and she looked up to her brother with a kind smile, “Go on before Gretchen gives what’s left to the pigs”, she pushed, and with that Nick smiled before turning to add his bowl to the pile to be washed up. The young man then turned and approached Gretchen that was standing behind the serving area with a bored look on her face, “Gretchen”, Nick called out warmly as if greeting an old friend, and due to his boyish charm Gretchen rolled her eyes at the boy before smiling knowingly, “You know the rules- I can’t give out seconds even if you are pretty. But that doesn’t affect you anyway Nick”, she teased and as a reaction to her insult Nick mockingly gasped as he put a hand on his chest in offence before dropping it. “You can insult me all you want, but I’m actually here as a delivery service for Troy”, Nick explained nonchalantly as if it was normal for him to be helping out Troy, and with his explanation Gretchen pursed her lips together before looking around the tables for the young Otto. “Well it is true that I haven’t seen Troy yet…”, Gretchen stated with a sense of scepticism in her voice, however as she looked at Nick; who was now smiling nicely up to her with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster, she rolled her eyes once more and grabbed a clean bowl from the pile next to her. “Ugh- Fine. But if I find out you ate this it will never happen again!”, Gretchen warned as she passed the full bowl of the chicken soup along with a bread roll to the boy. “Heard you loud and clear! Thanks for this Gretchen”, Nick stated as she took the food from the girl and made his way up to the Otto house. However, as he left the yard where everyone was enjoying their meals it wasn’t only Gretchen who was watching the boy intently- He had also managed to grab the attention of non other - To Nick’s<em> amazing</em> luck - Mike.</p><p>When Nick eventually reached the Otto house it quickly dawned on him that he had no idea what he was going to say, was he going to play oblivious to the fact Troy would probably have a massive cut down his cheek according to what Alicia told him. Or was he meant to scream and do the full dramatics of <em>‘Oh my god what happened?!</em>’ to the man, just to make it seem believable that his sister <em>definitely</em> didn’t tell Nick what she saw. As Nick entered the eerily quiet Otto house he decided that to be truthful will be the best way when approaching Troy, he didn’t want to put Troy in the situation where he felt wounded and weak as it will only provoke the man to prove his strength. To say Nick was in a difficult situation will be the understatement of the apocalypse, and then it only got worse as he had no idea where Troy’s room was. “Troy? Are you here?”, he called out into the empty house; Nick grimaced as he spoke, it felt wrong to have disturbed the silence that took over the house, yet still he waited for a response that he knew would not come. However, as Nick was about to give up in waiting for a sign of Troy’s whereabouts in the house, his head shot up to look at the ceiling after a loud creak emitted from right above he was standing, <em>Ha, got ya!</em> Nick thought to himself and smiled due to his small victory and quickly he made his way up the stairs so Troy could not leave by the time Nick would reach him. When Nick rounded the corner at the top of the stairs he was met with an oak door that stood guard to Troy’s room, at that moment he knew there was no turning back to what he was about to do, so he carefully balanced both the bread roll and the bowl of soup in one hand, and he raised the other to knock on Troy’s door. However, before Nick’s knuckle could even touch the door, it flung open and there Troy stood; dirty blond curls an absolute mess; his lips parted as he tried to understand why Nick was here; his eyes wide due to pure surprise with the right still being badly bruised, thanks to the spoon incident courtesy of his own mother, Madison; and then Nick’s eyes finally fell to the conversation piece from his chat with Alicia earlier- his cheek- A large cut graced his usually flawless skin, stitched up tightly by the steady hands of Jake, and all Nick could think of saying out of all the things he rehearsed prior to his arrival into the house is, “I got you some soup”.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Calm Before The Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The tension that sat between the two boys was thick enough that it could be cut with a knife, Nick was standing there still offering the bowl and piece of bread to Troy and the only reaction coming from the older man was him staring at the bowl as if his mind was trying to process what it was. Troy’s face read nothing compared to the questions that were racing through his mind; </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why was Nick here? Did he know? Does everyone know? Did Alicia tell Madison? How much did Alicia see-</span>
  </em>
  <span>, to say Troy was spiralling was an understatement and the only sign that showed Nick his inner distress was Troy’s index finger which tapped impatiently on the doorframe he was still holding. Nick knew this man more than he would like anyone to know; even himself sometimes, he knew that for people that didn’t know Troy reading him would be like staring at a concrete wall. However Nick knew Troy’s ticks- The way he kissed his teeth in annoyance; the way he stuck his tongue to the inside of his cheek when he holds back an outburst; and the way he tapped his finger or bounced his knee when he was trying to figure out how he was going to play his next move. Nick knew the man was struggling despite the defensive body language and stern facial expression he put on, so Nick raised the soup and roll of bread till it was practically being pushed into Troy’s chest making the man cautiously take it from him. “Finally man, I was starting to get cramp from holding it up for you- Is lunch time always this hard with you?”, Nick jabbed light-heartedly trying to get the older man to crack a smile; it was always easy for Nick to get a reaction out of Troy whether being a laugh or a small smile he tries hiding by faking a sudden interest in staring at the ground, but at that very moment Troy just looked almost tired at Nick’s antics. “Come on Nick”, Troy finally said to the other man, “You’re not here just to deliver me soup-” “Maybe I am”, Nick immediately countered, “You’re not”, Troy stated firmly which made Nick sigh loudly as he rubbed his head with his hand. “Just let me in Troy”, Nick ordered with a sense of defeat in his voice; he tried wearing down the man by his usual boyish jokes, but after what happened today Troy was obviously not having it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few moments Troy still stood in the space he made for himself between the door and the doorframe, he knew he could easily tell Nick to fuck off as he already had the soup and bread Nick offered in his hands. However, as Troy raised his eyes from the soup and focused it on Nick he saw how Nick was looking at him, he saw how Nick’s expression was soft- almost defeated Troy would say if he had to pinpoint what emotion the man portrayed. He didn’t look at him with pity; he didn’t look at him like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>weak</span>
  </em>
  <span>; he didn’t look at him like he was some poor victim in need of saving. No- Nick looked at him like he just didn’t want to be turned away, and for Troy it was strange, usually no one cared enough to check on him after one of Jeremiah’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>episodes</span>
  </em>
  <span>; as his brother calls them, occurs. Usually everyone that is close to him holds back incase Troy decides to use them as his little chew toy with his rage, but Troy was never angry after Jeremiah takes out whatever pissed him off that day on him- he just felt empty, he knew he should feel the emotional pain, but he just can’t. He’s so twisted that he doesn’t even shed a tear as his whole world burns around him- But here Nick is; a man he barely knows and a man that barely knows him, standing at his door, so of course Troy steps out of the way and allows Nick to enter his room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To say Nick was surprised when Troy stood out of the way so he could enter his room was an understatement, however he was no fool and knew that Troy’s mind could change in a split of a second so quickly the man entered the room and took in the surroundings. Troy’s room was simplistic to say the least: he had an oak desk and chair that sat beside a large window which displayed the whole ranch in its bustling glory; beside his desk he had a small bookshelf which held books that had well-worn leather spines; in the corner of his room sat a large oak dresser which was decorated with a few photo frames and finally, alongside his wall, he had a modest queen sized bed that was decorated with a red quilt. As Nick took in the details of Troy’s room his eyes couldn’t help but follow Troy’s movement as he walked to his desk and placed down his soup before moving what seemed to be sketches under an open book which sat on the corner of his desk. “Can you shut the door please?”, Troy asked politely as he broke the silence that hung heavy in the room shared by the two boys, and immediately Nick obliged and pushed the heavy Oak door shut meaning that the pair could not be disturbed. As Nick turned back to Troy he found the man sitting at his desk and fiddling with the spoon of the soup he had just been handed, “It will get cold you know?”, Nick jabbed as he sat down on Troy’s bed and watched the man by the window intently. “Well knowing you were the one to walk all the way up to this house, I wouldn’t be surprised if it already was when you reached my door”, Troy retorted as a small smirk graced his face. For a second Nick took note of the playfulness which glowed in his eyes as he wounded Nick’s pride, but as Nick’s eyes dropped to Troy’s cheek he was once again reminded of why Nick had made the visit to the Otto house. In the exposure of the sun’s rays the slice that marked Troy’s cheek looked red hot to touch, it looked angry like the anger that Jeremiah had towards Troy was now imprinted on his own son’s face. Troy knew what Nick was staring at as he started to eat away at the food Nick bought him, he knew why he was here- He just didn’t understand why he was suddenly so nervous about approaching the subject. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alicia told me everything”, Nick suddenly blurted out as if he couldn’t hold in the truth any longer, “I guessed”, Troy replied before turning his head to meet Nick’s concerned eyes with his own sharp and pointed look. “I still don’t really understand why </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>here though. Did Madison send you up?”, Troy asked as he felt his heart sink at the possibility that Nick really didn’t care at all- “No. She doesn’t know about this… No one else does apart from me and Alicia. I just thought you- well... needed a friend right now”, Nick stated softly and once again observed how Troy dropped his head to hide the small smile that marked his face. “So we are friends then?”, Troy asked as he raised his head once more to meet Nick’s eye contact, “Well yeah- I mean I did nearly blow your brains out the other night- Isn’t that what friends do?”, Nick joked making Troy chuckle as he recalled the memory. “To be truthful, I didn’t know which way it was going to go when you held the gun at my head”, Troy admitted as he pulled apart the bread roll Nick had given him, “Neither did I”, Nick teased making Troy snap his attention back to Nick; and if looks could kill Troy Otto would surely have butchered Nick with the glare he was sending him at this very moment in time, “I’m joking!”, Nick confessed which made Troy roll his eyes before he put a small piece of the bread in his mouth, “-I only thought about it a little bit”, and with that Troy threw one of the pencils that sat on his desk at Nick, hitting him right in the chest. Nick’s whole body flinched at the sudden attack and the look on his face was comical; it was a cross between pure surprise and betrayal as if Nick didn’t expect Troy to react to Nick’s insistent teasing. “Damn..”, Troy uttered as he plopped the last piece of his bread roll in his mouth. “What ? Ready to apologise?!”, Nick exclaimed in his dramatics of the situation that just unfolded, and in response to Nick’s question Troy laughed genuinely, “Pfft- No. I just liked that pencil”, Troy admitted as he stood to retrieve his pencil back from Nick. “Oh you mean you like this pencil?”, Nick taunted as he held the pencil tightly in his hand, and as Troy stood in front of Nick the man knew that Nick was not planning on giving back the pencil easily. “Come onnn Nick just give me the pencil”, Troy whined as he made grabby hands towards the pencil in Nick’s hands; at this point Nick saw the playfulness back in Troy that intrigued Nick so much about the boy, so obviously he couldn’t let that go. Nick immediately scooted back onto the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around his chest; he wasn’t going to let this pencil go even if it will mean costing him his life, Troy pursed his lips together as Nick curled himself around the pencil. Usually the man wouldn’t dare to fall for such childish antics due to his reputation he has to uphold in the ranch, however he was in his own private room, so if Nick wanted to scrap over a bloody pencil- Then who is Troy to deny him the challenge.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine- If you’re going to be like that then-”, Troy warned before climbing on top of Nick and trying to dig his arms between Nick’s own and his chest, to say Troy was rough was an understatement. The man constantly shook Nick in an attempt to loosen his grip on his pencil which was in his hand, throughout the whole tussle both Nick and Troy were laughing at everytime Nick’s grip overcame Troy’s attempts to break it. “Why is your grip so strong?!”, Troy whined as he finally pried the hand he needed away from Nick’s chest, “Maybe you’re just weak!”, Nick teased as he tried pulling back his own arm, however the second Troy could seize Nick’s arm he pulled Nick forward and spun his body so he had Nick’s arm trapped between his thighs. Right now Nick’s only view was the lower of Troy’s back, and deep down he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost to Troy as he could feel both of Troy’s hands try to pry his own apart. So Nick resorted to the only weapon he had left up his sleeve, he stuck a finger from his free hand in his mouth and then proceeded to wet willy Troy. To say Troy was impressed with Nick’s new method of attack was probably a lie, the man immediately jolted and released Nick’s hand in an attempt to get away from his attacker. However, Nick’s small victory didn’t last long as although he managed to get Troy to release his arm, he didn’t do anything to protect it due to the fact he was too busy laughing at Troy’s reaction to the wet willy. So immediately Troy’s pure look of absolute disgust morphed back into his cunning smirk as</span>
  <span> he pounced on Nick and proceeded to straddle the man’s waist with his thighs so Nick could not raise his chest, Troy knew he then had the upper hand and wasted no time in prying Nick’s hand off of his pencil. To say Nick had the wind knocked out of him when Troy dropped his whole body weight onto his waist would be kind to him- he would never admit to himself, nor anyone for the matter, that the effect of having Troy’s strong thighs around him was doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> for him that he would like to ignore. In the moment that Nick’s concentration fell due to the thoughts that ran through his mind Troy had easily taken his pencil back from Nick and wore a bright smile on his face. “You got to try better next time”, Troy jabbed teasingly at the man under him, but all Nick could really focus on was the thighs that sat around his waist and the smile that was worn by the man that they belonged to, he couldn’t afford to have a mental crisis as he was pinned down by the absolute nut case that was Troy Otto but here he was- Laying on Troy’s own bed under Troy himself thinking only about how pretty he was. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Nick’s breath finally caught up to him he decided that this would be the perfect moment to speak from his heart to the man that sat on him triumphantly, so Nick took in a deep breath; well as deep as you can get with a 90kg man sitting on top of you, and spoke, “How are you so fat in a fucking apocalypse-”, and immediately Troy let out a loud laugh as he climbed off Nick and went to return his pencil back to his desk. “Do you speak to your own mother with that mouth?”, Troy asked with a shake of his head before looking at his watch for the time. “Shit…”, Troy muttered making Nick react in interest of what was wrong. “The Militia’s got a run to the nearest town in literally 10 minutes- I have to go”, Troy explained without needing Nick to prompt him. “Well don’t let me keep you- I’ll take your bowl down to Gretchen if it makes things easier”, Nick offered and Troy smiled softly at the gesture, “Yeah that will be great- just.. Um- Well thank you”, Troy finally let-out and immediately he cringed at how he stumbled over saying something so simple, “Oh the soup was no problem really-”, “No.. not that. I was saying thank you for not pushing me to tell you what… well, you know”, Troy stumbled once more. He didn’t understand why it was so hard to talk about it he just felt so </span>
  <em>
    <span>pathetic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but as he looked up to Nick all he saw was the understanding that covered the man’s face. “It’s okay Troy, isn’t this what friends are for?”, Nick stated warmly as if he didn’t just have a whole mental crisis surrounding how much he wanted to just grab the other man’s thighs. Nick knew how much of a joke he was for having such a reaction to having Troy on top of him, and he knew that he could not confide in anyone about his problem just in case it managed to reach Troy. He wasn’t ready to let go of this twisted relationship he had with the other man, especially due to the fact that Troy was probably the only person in the world right now that could draw him in like a moth to a flame.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span> As the pair were leaving the Otto house Nick remembered that for everyone else Troy’s cheek will still be a shock, “I’ll run with whatever you say about your cheek by the way, you can blame me if you want. It probably won’t be questioned at all due to my track record”, Nick joked making Troy smile. “Yeah… Might even say we fought over a pencil and that I now wear a scar due to my victory… But that might be pushing the line on what they will believe”, Troy bounced back easily. “Just to say, but my arm is still half-dead due to your thighs”, Nick complained as he shook his right arm trying to get rid of the uncomfortable dull tingling sensation, “Well if you time it for me I’ll happily add ‘Nick’s right arm’ to my journal”, Troy teased and immediately Nick laughed at Troy’s joke, “Yeah and you better add the method of death as well you jerk”, Nick stated as both Nick and Troy reached the main area of the Ranch. “Well, I have to go to the armory, the group Luciana went out with must have returned by now if that helps you. I’ll catch you around Nicky”, Troy called out as he ran off in the direction of the armory. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ah.. yes, Luciana, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Nick thought to himself, suddenly the man felt guilty in helping Troy after what he did to her, was he the one to shoot her? Probably not after learning about the man’s accuracy with a gun, Nick had no doubt in his mind that if Troy was the person to shoot Luciana then she would have been killed. But does that justify what Troy did at the military base? Absolutely not. No matter what just happened between Nick and Troy today, he had to remind himself that if Troy snapped it would be a mess barely anyone would survive. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oooo a bit of foreshadowing at the end? ;) Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter surrounding Troy and Nick :)))))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Storm is Brewing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>To say Troy expected the hunt for supplies to go better than it was currently going, was a joke in itself, the sun was setting over the horizon and still nothing of value had been found since he parted the ranch mid-afternoon with the rest of the Militia. Troy sighed as he sat back in the passenger seat of Coop’s M151 as he stared at the map he held in his hands. According to whatever twat marked this map back at the ranch, the town his militia were slowly creeping through was meant to be a ‘Hell zone’ for the infected, but as Troy lowered the map and looked around all he could see was deserted homes and shops for the whole of the street’s length. Not a walker in sight- well actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>walking</span>
  </em>
  <span> anyway, there were a few stragglers but apart from that nothing of immediate concern. “Hey Coop we're goin’ to pull up here for a bit”, Troy announced, making the older man stop the car, and immediately the radio strapped to Troy’s vest feed came to life, “Everything okay up ahead Troy? Over”, Mike asked from one of the cars further back in the convoy, and slowly Troy stood up in his seat as he held one hand onto the roll cage of the vehicle and the other pressing down the button that sat on the side of his radio opening the air once again on the channel the Militia were using, “Yeaahhhh, I’m just pullin’ up so we can hopefully bring some life back into this place. Everyone stay alert, Over”, Troy responded before a smirk graced his face. “Hey Coop can you pass me up the 416?”, Troy asked as he looked on at the stragglers which littered the road up ahead, and immediately Coop chuckled as he retrieved the grand assault rifle from behind Troy’s seat, “So you’re really not going for subtlety with this one”, Coop joked knowing how loud the rifle was, “Well I could ask for the Bolt Action instead if you really want to push how loud I can be”, Troy jested as he took the HK 416 and checked the amount of ammunition that was in the clip before shoving it back into the gun and relishing the loud locking noise it made as it was locked in place, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh how he loved that sound</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Troy thought to himself as a manic grin plastered his face. He then raised the gun and pressed the stock firmly into his shoulder before looking down the sights his rifle had, Troy counted 6 stragglers which laid on the road, so for him this was an easy task, and just like that he took them out 1 by 1 with a freaky accuracy that no-one could rival. After he was done all that left was the loud echo of the shots he took, it was haunting waiting for what was to come, and all the Militia stood ready on the road listening for any noise which suggested Walkers were around, however- Nothing came. Troy didn’t like this- He was excited, but he didn’t like the situation he was in. A town which was once labelled as a Hell zone was now silent, and then that’s when he heard it- from down the street Troy’s attention focused on a store which still had it’s metal shutters down, from it came the distinct sound of loud thumping on a plastic door. “It seems like we got something interesting up here boys. Follow me and Coop, then park up across the front of the store, Over.”, Troy called in over the radio. “Let’s go Coop”, Troy ordered as he sat back down in his seat, and just like that, the engine of the M151 roared to life as Coop started up the car once again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the Militia parked up the cars, Troy jumped out the car he was in and swung the strap of the HK 416 over his shoulder so the gun was firmly secured to him, “Check your ammo boys- We can’t be having any mistakes out here”, Troy announced as he approached the shutters which rattled with every impact of the walkers attempting to break through the plastic windows behind them. Troy wouldn’t be surprised if the sounds coming from the store could be heard for miles around- he grimaced with every slap, groan and rattle that came from the store, and that’s when Troy found what he was looking for- in the middle of the store where the doors would be placed was a lock which sat in the dust, bolting the shutters to the ground. Troy grinned at his small victory and immediately dropped to his knee as he pulled out his pocket knife and set to work in unlocking the bolt. “Troy what’s the call?”, Coop called out as the rest of the Militia lined up in front of the store ready for what was to come, “When this lock gives- I will release the shutters, be ready for anyth-”, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>!C L A N G!</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Immediately the whole lock in Troy’s hands broke from the shutters there were holding and the store shutters shot up to the top of the store window with a deafening crash. In a split second Troy threw himself away from the door in pure shock of the situation- The lock must have been weaker than he thought at his first inspection, and as Troy scampered away from the Store all he was met with was the view of countless amounts of Walkers being pressed up to the Store’s front window. “Troy are you hurt?!”, Mike called out frantically with his gun raised along with the rest of the Militia which now stood alert. “Nah- nah I’m fine… Just a bit surprising that’s all”, Troy admitted as he got up from the ground and promptly brushed himself down. All Troy could hear in his ears was his own racing heart, the adrenaline that pumped through his veins was intoxicating and all he could do was let out a laugh at the face of death.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The state of the front of the store was something out of only the most twisted horror movies: blood was smeared everywhere by desperate hands, most of it was in messages such as ‘Help us’ and ‘God forgive us’; and then as Troy and the militia looked behind the glass they were only reminded more of how bad the situation must have turned, as at least 60 walkers stood pressed up to the thick plastic sheets which protected the store. Since the moment the shutter fell apart with Troy he was thankful to whoever decided to put in plastic instead of glass for the front of the store, he knew deep down that if it was the other way round right now he would be ripped apart in the front of some tacky store- Not exactly the way Troy had imagined himself finally going out. However- that was not the only reason Troy was thankful for the choice, as it had also been strong enough to have kept the walkers in, meaning that the chances of there being some seriously good loot in the store was high. “I think we should look for a back entrance”, Troy stated as if it wasn’t the obvious option in this situation, and in reaction to Troy’s comment Mike let out a laugh, “Damn I really thought today was the day you planned on killing us”, Mike joked making Troy laugh with him, “The day’s not over yet”, Coop dead-panned as he looked between the two men with an expression which only showed how much Coop was done with this shit. “That’s the spirit Coop!” Troy praised as he slapped his friend’s shoulder making Mike only laugh harder at the antics between the three longest serving members in the Militia. “Okay- okay. We got to actually do something now-”, Troy stated as he looked around all the Militia that joined in on the scavenge today. “Me, Mike, Danny and Joe will go round the back and get us into the store, the rest of you make a perimeter around the exit so we don’t get a </span>
  <em>
    <span>nasty</span>
  </em>
  <span> surprise when luring the walkers that are inside the store out. Then we will take them out and then sweep the store for stragglers. Coop- You will stay at the front of the store to keep guard of our gear and trucks, pick any three men you want to help guard with you and let’s go. Let’s do this thing people! No fucking around today!”, Troy ordered as he held all the members of the Militia captivated with his instructions. Troy knew he was a natural born leader, but in the apocalypse Troy’s leadership skills only seemed to prove themselves more and more by each passing day. He was truly at home in this world, he was the new predator and he relished in that fact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Troy crept around the left side of the building along with Mike, Danny and Joe he finally met with what he was looking for- There infront of Troy stood a clapped out wooden door which was coated in an old khaki green, the door itself was in bad condition due to neglect and Troy thanked whatever God that kept it from falling apart. “Obviously this guy blew his budget on the front doors and didn’t even think about reinforcing the back”, Mike stated as he looked over the condition of the door, “That’s good. Most back doors are linked to a bell so when forced open it will alert the store owner… I think we might have hit the jackpot boys”, Troy explained with a sense of disbelief at his own luck, and just like that Troy stood in front of the door and burst it open with one solid kick aimed next to where the lock was positioned on the door. “Too easy”, Troy gloated with a smirk before entering the store, immediately Troy was met with a walker which stood at his own height, but before it could even register Troy his brains were already splattered all over the wall behind him with credit going to Troy and his HK 416, “Remember there’s a tonne of these fuckers in here- No fucking around! Shoot a few then get out once it gets too crowded!”, Troy ordered- all playfulness from his voice now gone. Immediately he then raised his gun once more and cleared out 3 more walkers which had creeped through the narrow aisles to where him and his small group were positioned- </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s almost like kicking through a door isn't an art of stealth, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Troy thought to himself as quickly the aisles near where the door was became flooded with the dead. In every passing second the situation only got more dire and even the efforts of Troy, Mike, Joe and Danny were not stopping the large gathering of walkers in the store, “Back out!”, Troy called out over the deafening gun fire and immediately the small group retreated out of the store and ran to stand in line with the rest of the Militia that was guarding the perimeter of the store around the back entrance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Over a matter of minutes the onslaught of the walkers was over with not a single walker appearing from the broken doorway for the last passing seconds, however one Walker on the floor struggled to still crawl towards the group, after watching the walker for some time Troy drew his machete and plunged it straight down the middle of the walker’s head splitting the skull completely open. He then used his foot to hold the head still as he pulled his machete out of the split skull with a grunt, “Mike, Danny and Joe. Stick to the plan, go in and take out the stragglers. Use your torches and check under the aisles themselves as there could be a few of these bastards hidden under them. I’ll go to the front doors and try to open them. Sounds good?”, Troy explained briefly as he nonchalantly walked over the corpses that littered the ground outside the backdoor’s entrance. “Yeah, yeah- Sounds good to me”, Mike assures before following Troy into the building.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The conditions inside the store weren’t any better than it looked during the first impressions of the store the members of the Militia had when the shutters flew up earlier on- In fact it was worse, the first thing to note was how the tiled floors of the aisles were covered in blood to the extent were it was very easy to slip and fall. Another point to add was the stench of decomposing bodies that only got worse the more into the store they ventured, it was bad- even Troy was finding it hard not to gag, with the combination of the stench of rotting flesh and the maggots which littered corpses which had been so mauled that they couldn’t even reanimate as a walker. As Troy reached the beginning of the aisles in the store he immediately grabbed his torch and flicked it around the bottom of the shelves before walking down the aisle with caution, in his right hand he gripped his machete tightly- ready to swing at anything which came his way. Behind him he could hear the rest of his small group react to the scene with a mutter of “Jesus Christ” coming from the voice he recognised as Danny’s, but still Troy moved through the store seemingly unphased by how horrific it was. That was until Troy froze as his torch fell on the body of a young boy which was crawling towards him; the young boy’s legs had been obviously shredded apart by other walkers when he was turned, but when Troy looked at the kid’s face he saw only the bloodied eyes and snapping jaw which teeth gnawed together hungrily anticipating for their next meal. The boy’s hair was brown and his body was thinned with decay, but still as Troy looked on as the boy crawled slowly towards him, he noted how the boy had narrow eyes and high cheekbones, and if Troy was to imagine what this boy would look like if alive and his face full with life- He realised with horror that the kid would look exactly as Jake did when they were both young. Immediately Troy sliced the kid’s head, taking the top half of the skull cleanly off- he was rattled and all that was running through his head were the images of his brother from his childhood smiling towards him as he stared down at the corpse of the child which now laid still at his feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Troy reached the front of the store he made easy work with the door and flicked the locks which held the door firmly shut at both the top and bottom of the door. At the point Troy was standing in the store the stench of decomposing bodies and rotten blood was at its worst so, frantically, Troy rammed his whole body into the door multiple times till it eventually gave way and flew open allowing Troy to fall straight onto the concrete that lay outside the store. Troy coughed and heaved when he met the floor and immediately Coop ran up to Troy and put a hand on his shoulder, “Troy! Are you okay?”, he asked with concern laced in his voice, and Troy nodded in response as he still tried to inhale as much of the fresh air as possible. “You won’t believe how bad it is in there”, Troy eventually stated; chuckling nervously to brush off what he witnessed within the store. “How bad is it?”, Coop asked curiously as Troy sat up on his knees before slowly standing to face Coop eye-to-eye. “Let’s just say- that those walkers in there had been in there for a very lonnnnnggg time, if you get what I’m hinting at”, Troy explained as he scrunched up his nose in disgust to the smell which still reeked from inside the store. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few more minutes of waiting, Mike, Dany and Joe finally emerged from the stores’ front entrance with the same look of disgust that Troy could only empathise with, “It’s all clear in there”, Mike stated towards Troy, “Yeah and there’s som’ pretty good stuff in there too!”, Joe exclaimed with an obvious excitement surrounding what he found. Troy had noticed how time was not on his side; the sun was now a burning gold that hung low in the sky with dark shadows covering every building and burnt out cars on the street. “Okay- okay. This evening we only grab the good stuff. I’m talking about everything that is canned and other long life items such as pasta, rice, flour and sugar. Don’t get distracted! We need to be out of here in the next half an hour”, Troy instructed and immediately the Militia that were guarding the perimeter of the store entered the building and started to pack the goods in the trucks, however as Cooper moved to go into the store Troy grabbed his arm. “You’ll be staying out here with me”, Troy stated as Coop sent him a confused look at the grab on his arm. “Has there been any communication with the people back at the ranch?”, Troy asked as Cooper held the radio on his vest which was constantly on the channel that was used between the ranch and the Militia. “Nothing at all”, Cooper stated and immediately Troy was unsettled by the lack of communication between the ranch and the militia so he grabbed the radio from Coop’s vest and brought it to his mouth as he held done the button on the side of it, “Control it’s Mike-double-o-one, is anyone receiving ?. I repeat, it’s Mike-double-o-one is anyone receiving ? Over.”, Troy called through the radio waiting impatiently for a reply. However, immediately Troy’s nerves were put to rest by the sound of the air being opened on the channel, “This is Control, Madison speaking, go ahead with your message”, and immediately Troy smirked at the fact Madison was looking after the communications centre today; she really had proven her loyalty to the ranch with how much she helped out within the community in her short stay, Troy liked her, he liked her a lot. “Ah hello Madison, It’s Troy- I was just saying that we have an ETA of-”, Troy quickly checked the watch he had on, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit it’s already Eight</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he realised, ”- Twenty-one-hundred for being back at the ranch. Over”, Troy reported back. “Troy! I hope it’s all not been too bad out there today! I’ll make sure to tell Gretchen to keep some food warm for you guys, is that all -”, immediately the message cut off which only occurs when someone had attempted to message over Madison, but only two radios operate on the channel Troy was using and one of them was the one that he held in his hand, and the other was the one Madison was using. It quickly dawned on Troy that someone else was using the channel. Something was wrong. Troy knew something was wrong and as he looked up to Cooper he saw the dread that also marked the man’s face. “We have to go! Pack everything up! We’re getting out of here now!”, Troy exclaimed to the Militia that were busy securing all the food they had grabbed to the pick-up trucks they had brought with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However as the Convoy pulled out of the Store and turned to go back to the ranch immediately they were met with a pick-up truck which sat in the middle of the street with it’s engine running. “Troy! Sorry to cut short your little chat with Madison there!”, someone called out from the car and immediately Troy recognised the truck as they came up to meet the stranger- It was owned by the Black Hat Reservation, and just like that, Troy’s blood was on fire. “Stop the car Coop”, Troy ordered firmly and immediately Troy jumped out of the car as soon as Coop stopped it. “What do you want?!”, Troy called out enraged at the interruption, and immediately a trio of 3 older teenagers jumped out of the truck and approached Troy with the person that called out to him mockingly leading the other two in an arrowhead formation. “Well I want what you got, and I’ll let you go”, the boy stated nonchalantly. Troy crooked his head to the side in the audacity of the boys in front of him, “I mean you will want to go back to the ranch as quickly as possible… You wouldn’t want to miss out on what my Uncle had planned for your dirty father-”, immediately Troy snapped and grabbed the boy that talked way </span>
  <em>
    <span>too much</span>
  </em>
  <span> for his liking, in a headlock with one of his hands placed on top of the boys head and the other grabbing his jaw firmly. “Raise your fucking guns and I’ll break his neck!! You fucking understand!”, Troy yelled at the other two boys which looked between themselves terrified on what to do. Suddenly Coop emerged from the M151 and had his AR15 pointed directly at the other two boys as support to make sure the boys didn’t dare to raise the assault rifles they had strapped on them, “Do as he says boys- No need for it to go bad”, Coop stated calmly. “What the fuck are they doing to the ranch?!”, Troy questioned with rage lacing every word he spat at the boy in his arms, “I- I don’t know-” “Play dumb and I’ll snap your fucking neck and then parade your head to Walker on a plate! You hear me?!”, Troy threatened sharply and immediately the boy that was in his arms started tearing up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>He didn’t think Troy would be this hard to go get, he just wanted to prove himself to the group</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the boy thought as Troy tightened his grip on his head, “Okay!! Okay! I get it!! Oh my god please don’t kill me!”, the boy cried out, “They’re… they’re setting these camps on fire and then.. And then..-” “-And then what?”, Troy asked menacingly, “It’s one of the homes!! I don’t know but they said an old couple lived in it!!”, the boy exclaimed and immediately Troy yelled in rage before dragging the boy to the M151 Cooper and him had been using, “You’re going to sit in here and you won’t say a fucking word! You got me?!”, Troy yelled as he sat beside the boy and made an effort to scare the boy by pushing the blade of his machete against the boy’s leg. “If you two fucking follow us, I’ll kill you both without hesitation!”, Troy warned the other two as Coop backed away from his attacking stance and back into the driver seat of the M151. “Let’s go Coop”, Troy muttered as he returned his murderous gaze to the boy that sat in between both Cooper and Troy and immediately the engine of the car roared to life and the Convoy left the town.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>DISCLAIMER: So basically I've moved the timeline around so Madison's little party to find the helicopter that Travis died in was before this fic started (hence why Troy questions the lack of shoes Ofelia has), and now we're reaching the warning from Walker, so those two incidents have been switched for people who were wondering :))). </p><p>Anyway~ I'm starting to introduce the Troy we would love to fear if we were in the apocalyptic world with him, I mean he truly is a character that embodies kill or be killed (hence himself impaling his own hand on that guys knife just so he could kill him with it when he was being banished... like honestly... that was INSANEEEE)</p><p>I hope you guys don't mind me playing with the story line because honestly I'm going to mess with it a lot :)) Like all the major events will happen just in a different order and with slightly different outcomes :)))</p><p>Feel free to tell me what you felt about Troy's character in this chapter :)) I would love to hear feedback</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Let it Burn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What can I say?</p><p>I look pretty good for a dead bitch</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>To say Troy was rattled as the convoy roared back to the Ranch was an understatement. His mind was racing with a million thoughts per second, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What if the ranch is burned?- What if it’s been taken over?</span>
  </em>
  <span> - </span>
  <em>
    <span> What if everyone’s gone? -  What if - What if ? - </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>What if - - -</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Troy was furious, so immediately he grabbed the young man he had taken from the group and pulled his hair so his neck was bared to Troy, “You better pray they haven’t done anything or I’m going to slaughter you like a pig”, Troy yelled into the boy’s ear over the deafening roar of the truck’s engine, and immediately the boy’s startled eyes shot round to meet Troy’s sharp ones. “I will slice your neck, and watch you drown in your own blood, and don’t you think for a second that I’m bluffing. I’ll hang you up as my prize”, Troy threatened as his expression drew more manic with the more detail he gave. At this point the teen started to cry between Troy and Coop, he was certain he was dead, with an X marked on his head. Troy took in the boy’s expression as if he was analysing one of his patients before cracking a barking laugh, “You are so fucked kid”, he taunted before grabbing the radio which was attached to the kid’s vest, “Now… It would be stupid if you guys were to label the channels… wouldn’t it?”, Troy teased as he flicked through the radio’s channels before turning the radio to face the kid as the screen was marked with the label “Main Channel”. The teen could only cry louder at Troy’s taunts, he’s beyond fucked- he’s dead meat at this point, whether it be by Troy’s hands or Walker’s. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pleased at his own handy work Troy met Coop’s side glance with a cheshire cat grin before pressing down the button which opened the air for the channel, “It’s a quiet night tonight, wouldn’t you say?”, Troy asked before releasing the button. Immediately the air of the channel was reopened, however whoever was sitting on the other end of the channel hesitated to reply, and Troy’s grin widened knowing that he had startled the group. “....Who is this?”, the unknown man finally asked with a sense of unease, and as Troy opened the air once more he went to answer before turning to the kid who was staring at him wide eyed. “Why don’t you tell them, kid?”, Troy taunts as he holds the radio to the boy’s mouth. “I-It’s Nuka…. I’m with- with Troy”, he answered between shaky breaths, and Troy released the button on the side of the radio. “We’re nearly home Troy”, Cooper stated as he roared through familiar roads, however the closer they got to the ranch the glow of the sky above the position of the ranch had not gone unnoticed by Troy, slowly he stood inside the truck and held onto the roll cage of the vehicle before looking down upon the sniffling kid which had his eyes stuck on his lap. “Don’t hurt him Troy, there’s …. There’s other options here Troy”, the voice called through the radio, however Troy’s fun was gone as his eyes reflected the flames which scorched the ranch as they rounded the last corner to the ranch. It was as if his world was in slow motion, his hand tapped the roll cage impatiently and as he turned to the kid he met the kid’s fearful eyes with his own burning in hatred and buried rage. “You fuckers…”, Troy stated calmly as he held the young man’s eye contact as the convoy pulled up to the ranch’s gates which had failed to open due to no one being on the post.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the truck pulled to a halt Troy jumped out the side of the car and grabbed his HK 416 before slinging it over his shoulder, “Stay here Coop”, he ordered before he sprinted for the gate and immediately unhooked the gate, pushing it open so the convoy could enter the camp, “Grab water, get these fires out before it draws too much attention”, he called out to his convoy as he scanned the scene in view, Troy counted 3 fires which sat within the border of the ranch, however as his eyes were drawn to the dark horizon his face illuminated and he turned to find a house he knew well consumed in flames causing screams to emit from within the camp. Troy could only watch as the flames filled his eyes before letting out a cry of rage. “Come here you sack of shit!”, Troy commanded as he charged for the boy which sat within Coop’s truck and pulled him out of his side of the vehicle. “Do you see what you’ve done?!”, he yelled in the kid’s face as his hands made it up to the scruff of the boy’s shirt so he could shake him out of his blank trance. “I didn’t do this!”, the boy cried, “Oh but your brothers did, your family did, your friends did”, Troy listed as he cocked his head to the side and leant in towards Nuka’s face. “Isn’t that not good enough?”, Troy asked honestly with a doe-like expression masking his face before it quickly sharpened and hardened. “No- no Troy”, Naku begged before Troy swept out his legs and slammed him onto the floor. “You see here, you came to </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> convoy and tried holding </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> at gunpoint-”, Troy nestled his knee straight into the boys abdomen as he dropped his body weight onto the kid, “- And now </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> family are here, burning </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> ranch-”, Troy continued as he gripped the boys head and pushed his face up to bare his neck, “- But now… NOW- </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> fuckin- beg me? You beg me?! -”, Troy taunted as he unsheathed his dagger from his leg harness and drew the blade and pressed it straight to the boy’s adam’s apple, “- BEG NOW?!- now you can’t even breathe”, Troy screamed as the blade drew droplets of blood from the boy’s skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Troy’s full attention was pinned on the petrified boy beneath him, all he could hear was his pulse thump strongly through his ears, he only got pulled from his trance by Cooper calling for him repeatedly, “We got company Troy”, he called out to his friend before reaching for his own HK 416 and exiting his truck. Troy’s face slowly was illuminated by car lights and as he turned his head he saw two trucks race down the dirt beaten track towards the ranch. “I think your friends are here kid”, Troy stated plainly, he was itching for a fight, his blood was boiling, this was a bloodbath waiting to happen and if he was a betting man he would put all his personal possessions on him to come out victorious. “You ready Coop?”, he asked his friend who was currently checking the magazine for his rifle, “Always Troy”, he replied before locking it back in place and switching the safety off on the gun. Troy’s eyes remained fixed on the approaching headlights, and as they drew closer he grabbed Nuka from the ground and pulled him up till both him and Troy were standing, Troy then quickly spun him so he had his chest flushed to the older teens back, his hand remained around the boy’s chin with the other pressing his blade into his neck. “Come on!” Troy taunted the approaching duo of vehicles, this was it, this was the finale, the climax, the last stand, and Troy welcomed it. He did not fear death, he will greet it as a friend when it was his time, but tonight? Tonight is not his night to die, he could sense it, he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but for the approaching men Troy could not say the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The vehicles came to a halt around 50 metres from Troy, the engines were left running and lights illuminating the entrance of the ranch where Troy stood gripping onto Nuka, from the vehicles two emerged from one, and three from the other. Troy recognised the duo immediately as the boys that attempted to rob from his convoy, but as his eyes ran over the other three he was met with faces he did not recognise in the slightest. “Welcome to the show boys”, Troy called out to the strangers which stood in front of Troy, “Cut the crap Troy. Hand over Nuka”, One of the three yelled back making Troy only grin widely, “Well, is it fair that you know my name? Yet I have no clue who you are”, Troy taunted. “Do you even know what these idiots did?! They tried stealing from me. ME !”, Troy continued as he dug the blade firmer against Nuka’s neck immediately issuing the response of the five men grabbing for their guns. “They threatened me… They insulted my pride… They came into my territory… And now.. Now you reach for your guns on me?”, Troy called out in anger. “You’re all FUCKIN’ DEAD”, he yelled before running the blade across Nuka’s neck slicing the major arteries and throwing him on the ground to choke and squirm in a pool of his own blood. Immediately Troy dived for cover behind Coop’s vehicle as the small group raised their guns to fire at Troy, however Coop was quicker and already had planted a bullet straight through one of the men’s heads. Troy’s hands trembled with adrenaline as he reached for his rifle on his back, his hands were stained red, he had literally got Nuka’s blood on his hands. He did not waste time, he immediately crawled to the front of the truck and waited for a gap in the gunfire onslaught to fire back, in his first turn he pressed the rifle into his shoulder and sprayed down the duo which came out of the first truck which approached the ranch. The cries of pain shows that Troy’s aim did not fail him and that he struck one of his young men in a critical area, however as he waited for the next gap in gunfire to return fire a glint of metal caught his eye and as he looked into the dark he saw that one of the 3 men from the truck had moved around to get a clean shot on him. Immediately Troy swore out loud before diving from his initial spot and covered his head as he lay face down in the dust, narrowly missing getting shredded by an onslaught of bullets which now ricocheted off the metal of the truck. However before the gunman had time to redirect his fire Troy gripped his bloody knife once more and scampered off the ground and charged at the gunman making sure to serpentine his running so it was nearly impossible to get a clean shot on him- especially in the dark. Troy wasted no time and completely bodied the man to the ground, sending both men flying and winding them both, however Troy recovered quicker and lunged at the man with his blade in hand, and out of reflex the man under him grabbed Troy’s wrist preventing him from plunging the dagger into his face. He stopped the attack within an inch of his face and Troy yelled as he added his other hand to the hilt of the blade and used all his body weight to push the blade down. However the wrestle did not go unnoticed and as Troy fought with the man under him he looked up to see the other gunman redirect his aim to him, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This was it… This is how it ends</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Troy’s mind swam with dread, it was over. It was all over- screwed by a fucking kid, he braced as he saw the man ready the next shot, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>!BANG!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man immediately dropped to the floor as Troy made out the image of the man’s head exploding, even in the limited vision due to it being the middle of the night, there was only one gun that made that noise and he knew it very well. Someone had a bolt action and thankfully they were on Troy’s side. Troy’s body thrummed with adrenaline, he escaped death once again so he turned his attention back to the man he was wrestling with under him, and with all of Troy’s strength, he pushed the blade down once more with it plunging straight through the man’s eye socket beneath him. Troy panted as he sat victorious on top of the man that now layed limp under him, the gunfire still echoed around him, one man still stood and he was oblivious to Troy’s position- his sole focus being on the exchange he was having with Cooper. Troy wiped his blade clean on the sleeve of his jacket before slowly rising from the body under him, he didn’t want to give away his position and so he started to stalk towards the man like a tiger waiting for the right moment to pounce. Any moment now was perfect, he just had to wait, it was so close- </span>
  <em>
    <span>so close !</span>
  </em>
  <span> Suddenly Troy charged into a sprint and accelerated towards the unaware man, however suddenly his legs were taken out from under him and Troy crashed into the hard ground head first. He was dazed and his vision blurred, everything spun- the ground he laid on was slipping from him- However, as he turned onto his back a figure was leaning over him and as his vision cleared he realised it was the boy he slit the neck of earlier. Immediately Troy panicked and grabbed at the boy’s face as his jaws snapped an inch from his face, his blade was gone- where it was he had no clue- and he was so disorientated- and sleep felt more welcoming right now then it has ever done before in his life. His sole focus was on keeping the boy’s teeth away from his face, but the walker was thrashing relentlessly- Hungry for his first meal, and Troy was exhausted and slowly the walker made its way closer to his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>!BANG!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Troy recognised the feeling of the boy’s blood splatter his face and as he re-opened his eyes he found the walker slumped on top of him with its head half blown off, and as he looked up he found the barrel of a gun and Nick’s eyes staring down at him with an unreadable and hard expression masking his face. Troy’s eyes flicked between the barrel of the gun and Nick’s eyes, he’s been in this position before, however he much preferred his odds this time round. Nick lowered the gun and tucked it back into his trousers before dragging the young man’s body off of Troy’s. “Come on Troy, get up”, Nick ordered hastily as his eyes flicked over Troy’s form in worry. He was painted with blood- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Was it his? Was he bit? Is this it?! It can’t be it- It’s too soon</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick offered his hand to Troy and Troy obliged, grabbing onto the outstretched hand and Nick pulled him up, the second the man was up Nick did not wait to grab onto Troy’s neck and check it for scratch or bite marks. “Woah, Nick- Nicky?”, Troy let out softly as having Nick so close to him had seemed to take all the bite out of his bark. “You’re not bit”, Nick stated as he took a step back and met Troy's questioning eyes. “No.. He didn’t get me..”, Troy explained softly, “Good. That’s good”, Nick stated plainly and to the point. Whatever stood between the boys could only be explained as an unreadable tension, something was there but neither boy could put a finger on what it was until Coop broke it apart with his arrival. “What a night boys…”, he exclaimed as he patted both of them on the back and looked beyond them to look upon the building which was still burning in flames. “What’s come of Russell and Martha?”, Coop asked in genuine curiosity and Nick shook his head before following Coop’s eyes to lay onto the house. “They’re gone.. And Jeremiah told us not to waste the water on the house… So there she burns”, Nick stated with a sense of defeat. “I’m sure there’s nothing more you could have done”, Troy spoke up before lowering his head and walking into the ranch. Nick watched him walk on in silence, it had truly been a night of hell even one to defeat the great Troy Otto it seems. “Hmm.. Him being nice? He must have really hit his head back then”, Coop laughed off at an attempt to lighten the mood, “Let’s secure the front. We’ll leave this mess for the morning”, Coop stated as he approached the front gate and waited for Nick to enter the ranch. “Did you have the bolt action?”, Coop asked out of curiosity as Nick finally walked into the ranch, “No… just the pistol I’m afraid”, Nick stated before his eyes met with Troy walking up to the Otto house. However, he was not alone- No not at all. A man he clearly recognised as Mike had his arm slung round the back of Troy’s shoulders as a gun was strapped to his back, a gun he would put money on being a Bolt Action Rifle. A heavy uneasiness sat in the pit of his stomach as he watched Mike continue to walk with Troy up to the Otto house, however he had no time to read into it as someone ran up to him from his side and pulled him into a hug. A person his mind quickly registered, his sweet Luciana. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. What are friends for?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This chapter started off too sweet for my liking :) </p><p>Couldn't be giving you guys too much fluff, so I decided to give you guys a droplet instead &lt;3</p><p>- Much love, an author which takes the meaning of slow burn too literally c:</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nick’s eyes still tracked Troy’s figure from over Luciana’s shoulder, it shouldn’t bother him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but it did</span>
  </em>
  <span>, everything that man did bothered him. His experiments, his careless attitude in regard to his own life, his violent outbursts, and don’t get him started on Troy and his little experiments. The man was the freak of all freaks, he would make your local community’s preacher of the world’s end look sane. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How ironic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Nick thought, all that preaching but they never predicted the dead raising. “I was worried Nick, where did you go? I couldn’t find you ! I thought- I thought..”, Luciana rambled as she leant back from the embrace and grabbed Nick’s head in between her hands and turned the man’s head so his focus was on her. Her eyes were questioning, awaiting his answer, she didn’t deserve this- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh me? Well I saw Troy get completely decked by a walker and ran to save his sorry ass. Oh Troy- you know- The man that nearly killed got us all killed that one time-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was getting water from the pump- But Jeremiah told us not to bother”, he explained as he met Luciana’s eyes with his own reflecting the guilt that slowly swallowed him up. “Let’s go to bed yeah?”, Nick suggested but as he pulled away Luciana held him in place and followed his dodging eyes to meet hers once more. “Then how did you end up down here?”, She asked softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah… Fuck</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was a group at the main gate, Coop and.. Troy were down there, it seemed they weren’t in the best position, so I helped them out”, he explained, trying to dodge around the fact he used every card he had to save Troy from being shredded. At the mention of Troy’s name Luciana’s expression immediately hardened in comparison to the concerned expression her face wore previously. “Troy…”, she let out as if Nick had just smacked her across her face. “And Coop Luci… I can’t just let them die! We have to impress Jeremiah”, Nick argued in a hushed tone so no one could overhear their conversation. “You could have let one of them die”, she immediately countered and Nick scoffed in reaction to her response. “Don’t do that. We both know I can’t just sacrifice his son”, Nick stated causing Luciana to shake her head before she turned her back on Nick and approached their shared cabin. “Luci… Come on- I would if I could”, Nick called after her as he jogged to catch up to her and put himself between her and the cabin. “You’re a liar Nick”, she spat at him as she stood up into his personal space as if challenging him. “What- How?”, he countered as he laughed as if it was a joke he did not understand, he understood, he knew perfectly what she meant, but if he told her the truth there was no question that she would leave him then and there. Nick was trying to grasp at two ropes, however the more he held onto one, the other would slowly slip out of his reach. The obvious answer would be to let go of the one he barely knew, the one he didn’t love, and instead to keep the one his heart was drawn to, the one he would protect without a question. Maybe he was doing that? Maybe he was making his decision without even thinking, Nick did not care to entertain this fact, he was not ready to think over his actions of the past day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luciana continued to look Nick over before she let out a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding, as if she was holding in the tension that kept her tense. “I’m sorry Nick, that was unfair of me. I think I’m just tired.. That’s all”, she stated with a sense of defeat in her tone, her face wore a tired, sad smile and Nick pitied her deeply. He was not a man to play the field, entertain two parties, drag and then cut loose, if you will. “There’s no reason to say sorry, there’s no harm done. I’m perfectly fine as you can see”, Nick stated as he wore a fake-yet-bright smile, “Let’s go Luci”, he suggested as he linked their hands together and walked towards their shared cabin. “What a quiet night it has been”, he joked resulting in Luciana light-heartedly slapping his arm in a scold. She was gorgeous- no. Stunning. Everything Nick could want in a woman, and to find her as the world burned, now what are the odds of that? However, as he led her into the cabin in a comfortable silence and placed soft kisses on the junction of her neck. All he could think about was how maybe he didn’t appreciate the touch of soft skin to his lips anymore. As he undressed her, caressed her body, felt her breasts, ran his hands through her hair… Maybe he would prefer the touch of hard muscle under that skin, a firm chest, and a broader build to hold onto and manipulate to his pleasure. As he crawled on top of her in their shared bed and continued to worship her body, she let out the most beautiful noises- High pitched moans and gasps which she failed to silence and managed to slip out of her luscious, hot mouth. However, he did not crave these noises, he craved a voice with a gravelly undertone, a deep thrum to it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he laid in bed beside Luciana which was in a deep asleep Nick could only lay awake as he looked up to the wooden ceiling above him. He had been in this position for what felt like hours- probably minutes knowing his luck. Throughout the night Nick found little sleep, drifting constantly into small pockets every now and then. He wasn’t going to get much of a forgiving rest at this rate, so instead Nick swung his legs out of the bed, grabbed a cigarette and his light and left the cabin. When he left the cabin he found the sky to be in the stages of early dawn, the midnight-black sky was now a deep rich blue with stars scattered generously along it’s pane. The air had a welcoming smell of fresh dew in it, the long grass had fresh water droplets clinging to each blade. Nick looked up along the horizon to see a soft amber glow had started to emerge itself from over the surrounding mountains which sat to the east. He put the cigarette between his lips and wasted no time in flicking open his lighter and sparking it till it finally lit. Slowly he took a deep drag from the cigarette between his lips and sighed as he released his breath, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now this- This was peace</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought to himself before opening his eyes and landing them on the smouldering house which sat as a reminder of the night before. Nick frowned at the image, it’s smoke was still rising, but the house itself was destroyed, all that was left was it’s stone foundations and a few wooden structures which managed to withhold the scorch from the flames which consumed the structure a matter of hours before. Out of habit Nick then turned his head to the Otto house which sat on top of the hill within the ranch, what he did not expect was to have a figure leaning on the balcony, with his head in his hands, already looking straight at him. Nick took in the figure of the man despite the light still being limited due to it being early dawn. There was no denying it, that build, that silhouette of soft curls, it was definitely Troy-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How long had he been there? Did he have trouble sleeping too? - Well obviously, no man stands outside their house at around 4 in the morning for shits n’ giggles. Pfft- Or maybe he does? Could be another one of his experiments, seeing what idiots are stupid enough to be up at this time. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick let out a laugh as he grabbed his cigarette from his mouth and threw it to the ground before crushing it with his foot. Slowly Nick turned his head and headed back into his cabin and walked past the bed shared between Madison and Alicia and into the room where Luciana still lay undisturbed from the last time he saw her. Quietly he snuck back into the bed they shared and let sleep claim in, he welcomed it with a soft smile painting his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Nick awoke the first thing he registered was the sun which was bearing down on him through the window in their cabin, he squinted at first as he let his eyes adjust to the brightness of his environment. It must have been close to midday and as he looked over to the bedside table he noticed a bowl of porridge and a glass of water which sat untouched. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Probably Luciana</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought to himself as he rubbed the sleep from his face, and aimlessly he reached for the porridge and devoured it like some starved animal, not the neatest thing to witness, but does anyone really expect that from a man like him. Luciana, Alicia and Madison had probably left the cabin hours ago, deciding to leave Nick to his sleep. As much as he was tempted to, he couldn’t just decide to spend his day inside the cabin doing absolutely nothing, so after he finished his porridge he set the bowl aside and dressed himself, it was simple, a faded maroon jumper and black jeans. He then grabbed his tooth brush and tooth paste and set to brushing his teeth, however as he left the cabin to spit the toothpaste out onto some grass, he noticed that most of the ranch had gathered at the Armory. Immediately Nick bolted back into the house, chugged the glass of water he had and took both the bowl and glass outside and to the catering unit, where he left it on the side. This whole time his focus was on one thing, finding out what the commotion was about, so he set off and jogged up to the Armory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean they haven’t returned?”, Jeremiah asked as Nick bustled his way to the front of the group and found his way beside Alicia. “What’s going -”, Nick turned to ask Alicia but immediately she put her hand up across his chest signalling him to be quiet. “The group that went out yesterday to search for the downed helicopter never came back”, Troy stated plainly as if he was disinterested by the situation. He was standing in his usual kit, his camouflage cargo trousers and a camo green shirt, his arms were crossed and his body stood in a defensive stance towards his father. “Well we must send out another group”, his father stated and immediately Troy turned to Jake and tilted his head to his side as if to say to his older brother ‘I told you so’. “No- no, that’s out of the question. Last night they set fire to a house well within the ranch’s border and then attempted to disrupt Troy’s convoy”, Jake argued as his face wore an expression of worry. He was rattled, anyone could see that, yet Troy stood there- bludgeoned eye and sliced cheek as if he could not give two shits about what happened last night. “We have to go Jake!”, Troy argued back as if bored of the situation. “We have a helicopter which is down, it was carrying supplies which we- as a ranch. Need”, he further explained before turning once more to his father which stood in silence observing the conversation between his two sons. Jake stood as if begging his father to side with him, “Troy, collect a team”, “Oh for God's sake!”, Jake interrupts as he shakes his head resulting in Jeremiah giving him a disapproving look, “As I was saying, Troy collect a team and follow the tracks of the helicopter we lost. I want you back way before that sun sets, you hear me boy?”, Jeremiah orders, “Yes Sir”, Troy states as he stood pleased with his victory over his brother. “Well, I’ll take Coop, Mike, James and well…. What about Harry? Yeah that’ll do”, Troy suggests- It was a small group, far less than the size he left with yesterday. “That’ll leave you on your own in a vehicle Troy”, Jake states plainly and immediately Troy shrugged in response. However, before Troy could reply Madison stepped forward and what left her mouth stunned both Nick and Alicia speechless,“I’ll go with you Troy”. “Wait- wait. Mum think about this”, he interrupts raising his hand in protest, “I have Nick-”,“No I don’t think you have. Please just stay- What if you die? What will we do?!”, Nick exclaimed suggesting to both him and Alicia. “Well, Troy will protect her of course. Isn’t that right son?”, Jeremiah interrupts and immediately all eyes turned to Troy which gaped slightly at the question before nodding, “Of course I will”, Troy stated as his eyes flicked between Nick and Madison. “Well that’s settled then”, Jeremiah declares before clapping his hands together, “Everyone can go back to their jobs now”, he announces wearing his usual fake smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the crowd dispersed Nick observed as Jake walked back to the house with Jeremiah obviously bickering between the two over how Jeremiah sided with Troy. Why wouldn’t he? If it goes bad he’ll be losing Troy not number one son Jake. It was probably an easy decision for the Otto, Nick thought to himself before scoffing. Troy had entered the Armory and was currently walking down the steps which lead into the pantry, intrigued to get the youngest Otto on his own Nick followed. When he entered the pantry Nick leant against the wall awaiting for Troy to turn and acknowledge his presence. Troy had his hand currently on one of the guns, a rifle to Nick’s limited gun knowledge, eventually Troy looked over his shoulder to see Nick standing in the doorway watching his interaction with the gun. “It’s a M4A1 Carbine…. A real beauty, it can fire 950 rounds a minute”, Troy stated as he raised the gun to further inspect it. “Count them yourself did you?”, Nick joked as he crossed his arms, and as Troy looked down the scope he broke into a smile as he laughed lightly at Nick’s joke. “I know it’s hard to believe- but I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> good”, Troy joked back before bringing the gun away from his face and slinging it over his back. He then turned to face Nick and Nick could tell he was calculating his next move. Slowly Troy walked nonchalantly towards the wall which held the machetes and other bladed weapons, Nick observed him in silence as he watched the man inspect the blades with his hands. “I didn’t see you at breakfast this morning”, Troy stated out of the blue and as he picked his machete he set it aside on the table beside him. “I didn’t realise you were looking out for me Troy”, Nick replied as he raised an eyebrow to Troy’s statement. The man was currently reaching for a kit belt, and once satisfied he clicked one around his hips and tightened it till he saw it comfortable, he then slid in the machete he put aside earlier into the holster on the belt specially designed for the blade. “Ah- well, I owed you one, didn’t I?”, Troy asked, obviously referring to the day before when Nick came to him with the soup. “I didn’t do it for a favor Troy-”, Nick replied and as he took a second to think he realised what Troy was telling him. It wasn’t Luciana which brought him the porridge and drink- It was Troy. As Nick processed the information he just received Troy was busy himself clicking a leg holster around his right leg and attaching it to the kit belt he had already put on. “I thought that’s what everyone did things for…”, Troy mumbled as he struggled to loosen the leg holster so it could sit higher on his thigh. “Maybe I just want us to be friends Troy'', Nick stated as he stared at the man-in-question’s thigh and as Troy finally got to sit it high enough on his leg after struggling with his thigh for what felt like an eternity for Nick, Troy stood back up and approached Nick. As Troy stood Nick made sure to divert his eyeline from the man’s thigh, and met eye contact with Troy. “Do you like it here?”, Troy asked as he stood in front of the shorter man. “It’s the closest thing I’ve had to a home since the world went to shit. So yes, to answer your question. Yes I do”, Nick replied trying to figure out what the man was digging at. To Nick’s response Troy ran his tongue on the inside of his cheek as he averted his gaze to up the pantry’s stairs, “You see… Word is that your girlfriend doesn’t want to stay”, Troy stated. Immediately Nick went onto the defense and took a step closer to Troy, making the space between the two men non-existence. “Keep her name out of your mouth-”,“I didn’t say her name-”,“See if I care when I have a gun to your head”, Nick argued as he challenged Troy, the other man’s expression was unreadable his eyes were flickin all over Nick’s face till they landed back on his eyes. “If you were going to shoot me, you would have done it already”, he stated plainly before turning to take his leave from the pantry. However, before he could leave Nick snatches Troy’s arm and pulls him back to him, leaving Troy speechless before he pulls the collar down on Troy’s shirt exposing a dark bruise which Nick spotted peeking from above his collar. “Now isn’t that interesting Troy”, he taunted and the man stood in silence as if he was trying to calculate his next move. “Wasn’t Mike with you last night? Certainly wasn’t with you when I saw you this morning”, Nick continued as he grinned mockingly at the taller man. “Shut up! Don’t fucking say a thing!”, Troy ordered in a hushed tone as he crowded Nick’s personal space. “Then protect my mum”, Nick bargained as he tilted his head to the side, “I was already gonna-”,“Properly this time…. No accidents Troy”, Nick interrupted. Troy paused before nodding to confirm he will protect Madison, “You can’t say anything-”,“Your secret is safe with me….friend”, Nick reassured plainly before slapping Troy’s shoulder and taking his leave out of the pantry.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>It felt wrong using one of Troy’s darkest secrets against him, but in other ways it felt incredible. Yes, on one </span>
  <em>
    <span>highly disturbing</span>
  </em>
  <span> hand, it bothered Nick that it was now confirmed that Mike has obviously been fucking with Troy, like why did it bother him so? He shouldn’t care less about that mad man, yet here he is riled up only on the fact that he has a hickey on his collarbone from a man that frankly he couldn’t understand how he is Troy’s type. To make matters worse, as Nick left the armory the man-of-the-hour was waiting right outside resting on a truck, however, as Nick caught sight of him Mike immediately straightened up as he returned the eye contact with Nick.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Well you’re a bit spooked, aren’t you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Nick thought to himself as he grinned slyly. He had probably been waiting for Troy, but that still didn’t make sense why he reacted in the way he did when he saw Nick. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was he a threat to Mike? What didn’t Nick know? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He questioned as he turned back to the entrance of the armory to catch the sight of a  </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> rattled Troy Otto standing there as if he was a deer in headlights. Nick’s grin widened as he saw the sight, he couldn’t help it- he had been the man to catch Troy out. He then drew his attention back to Mike which flicked his eyes between the two in an expression which only could be described as horror. He knew… He knew that Nick knew and that only made Nick laugh to himself as he walked back over to his cabin, maybe life at the ranch wouldn’t be as dull as it seemed originally.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Beyond Familiar Territory pt. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Do you want 3,000 words of just pure dialogue ? Perfect</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Troy didn’t know what to do, as he went to approach Mike the other man had already turned his back and was jumping into the Truck he had pulled up to the armory with, “I’ll see you at the gate Troy”, he called out before abruptly leaving Troy in the dust. Usually Troy would have ran after Mike if he could, make sure he couldn’t escape him, but in this instance he couldn’t. Nick had backed him up into a corner he couldn’t fight himself out of without raising questions. To say he was hot-headed would be an understatement- the man was practically running on anger and fury, so to promise Madison’s safety to Nick in exchange for him keeping his mouth shut terrified him. Troy only protected his very tight circle and in those instances he would throw his life on the line for them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Was he really going to have to exchange his life for Madison’s if it came to it? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Troy shook his head as he took his canteen and filled it at the yard’s tap, and then proceeded to take a deep drink from it. He had to clear his thoughts- He knew this, he wasn’t an ammature, but - He couldn’t shake the fact that Nick now held an executioner's axe over his head and he just had to go on like nothing was wrong. Troy kicked himself for trusting the young Clark, when did he become so soft? So easily manipulated… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Multiple thoughts swam through Troy’s head as he made his way down to the gate, his expression was dark and clouded- easy to read as a warning from anyone thinking of approaching the relentless Otto. As he walked past the Infirmary Troy felt a pair of eyes bore into him, and as he raised his head to find the source of his discomfort he found the woman that entered the ranch yesterday morning. As their eyes met neither backed down from the challenge, this intrigued Troy, and instantly he diverted from his route and started heading straight for the woman. Ofelia had been watching Troy closely, why wouldn’t she? Would you take your sight off a black mamba when confronted with one? He was dangerous and she knew this, she was warned about him from Qaletaqa, and she knew to not take that lightly, if the man was a threat to him then he was more than enough a considerable threat to Ofelia. As he walked closer bells rang in her ears, she knew she should drop the eye contact with him, or turn away if that, but something about the man’s cold stare made her rooted to the spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>- </span>
  <em>
    <span>avoid talking to him at all costs</span>
  </em>
  <span> -</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Step,</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Step,</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Step,</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>- </span>
  <em>
    <span>That boy can read through bullshit like it was the same bible he was beaten with as a kid</span>
  </em>
  <span> -</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>STEP</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>STEP</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>STEP</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was too late, she had nowhere to turn, nowhere to run, no one to turn to, she had to pass whatever test he was about to throw at her, because as if a man like Troy was really coming over just for a friendly chat. There was no room for mistakes. She had to keep him unsuspicious for her to be able to pull Qaletaqa’s plan. Involuntarily Ofelia swallowed and Troy smiled slyly as he stood in front of her, noting already the nerves that Ofelia displayed in her body language. “I don’t believe I’ve properly introduced myself”, he stated laced with his cunning charm. “Well, it was quite an abrupt entrance, I must admit”, Ofelia responded smoothly as she smiled sweetly towards the taller man. “I’m Troy, I lead the militia here in the ranch”, he introduced as he extended a hand towards Ofelia, he seemed sweet- </span>
  <em>
    <span>charming</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she could tell why he was worthy of a mention from Qaletaqa before she came here, the man’s facade was one of a charismatic man. That was all it was though, a facade, she has witnessed what Troy is capable of doing when challenged, Qaletaqa had shown her photo after photo of men he had butchered just because they were foolish enough to challenge him. “Ofelia, it’s always nice to meet a new face out in this world”, she stated plainly as she shook Troy’s hand. “Ah- Well you’ll never know who you will meet on these dust tracks”, Troy cautioned as he smirked, as if he was in on a joke that Ofelia did not understand. “But- I believe you already know that. You see- I found your story at the gate interesting… We’ve had men show up with no boots before. And every time they mentioned the same name… Walker I believe it was”, Troy explained, and as Troy retold the information he knew, his face remained soft and welcoming, however his eyes were sharp- they were searching for something. As Troy mentioned Qaletaqa Ofelia felt her mouth dry, it’s as if Troy had a knife to her back- but to anyone looking on them both, it would have just looked like a friendly encounter. “I didn’t catch his name I’m afraid”, Ofelia lied half-heartedly and as she did she stammered on her words, immediately she knew her mistake. To anyone watching closely enough they would have seen Troy’s eyes narrow onto her as he tilted his head ever so slightly- He knew she had lied straight to his face, and all Ofelia could do was to wait for him to condemn her, sentence her, throw her to the crows. However, it never came, all Troy did was shrug and scratch the back of his neck, “Well, let's hope that we’ll never have the opportunity to learn it anytime soon”, Troy stated nonchalantly, before taking his leave and walking down to the main gate of the ranch. He knew, </span>
  <em>
    <span>He fucking knew</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and yet he did nothing, Ofelia stood in silence as she watched the dirty-blonde haired man collect his rucksack from a man she knew as Coop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You ready Troy?”, Coop asked as he made the final preparations for his kit. “Yeah… I just had to check something”, Troy stated as he looked back up to Ofelia’s position, he found her to still be watching his every move- However, as he caught her view of sight once more, she immediately turned from him and walked inside the Infirmary. “What’s your view on her?”, Coop asked out of curiosity over the encounter he just witnessed, “She’s a liar”, Troy stated coldly as he turned to put his rucksack inside the boot of the dune buggy he drove. “What makes you say that?”, Coop pushed, not satisfied with Troy’s initial answer, making Troy chuckle to himself. “Okay- So I asked her about her story. You know how it was very </span>
  <em>
    <span>familiar</span>
  </em>
  <span> to Harry and James’ here. And we all know Walker.. This is his style, but one thing he does is that he tells you his name. I don’t know why! It’s like adding some weird personal touch to robbing someone”, Troy explained as he turned back to Cooper who was laughing at Troy’s explanation. “Come on it’s true!.. One day we’re gonna have to go up to him just to get some fucking shoes back!”, Troy exclaimed causing Cooper to laugh even harder. “Well by all means you can go do that Troy. But just note that I will be sick on whatever day you choose to do this mission of yours”, Coop stated causing Troy to push his shoulder lightly. “I’m not even joking Coop!”, Troy exclaimed once again as he broke out into a laugh himself.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Madison was making her way towards where Troy, Coop, James and Harry stood beside the three vehicles that were being taken for the scout of the downed Helicopter. As she drew closer she saw that the four men were engaged in a lively conversation with Troy and Coop bent over in laughter as Harry and James laughed between themselves. Madison also noted how Mike sat in Coop’s truck seemingly bored of the other men’s antics, it was odd to say the least, she knew he was close with the other two senior members of the militia, so to see him excluding himself made no sense to her. “You can still change your mind”, Alicia cautioned as they drew ever closer to the group she was set to leave with. “I know that Alicia, but I won’t. I volunteered to help. And I stick to my decision”, Madison maintained earning a shake of a head from her daughter. “He’s insane…”, the youngest muttered under her breath causing Madison to stop in her tracks and grab Alicia so they were facing each other. “Hey. Hey- I know this must be terrifying, but I have to do this. If I don’t then Jeremiah will never see me as being able to hold my own. And in the case of Troy- Would you want him with us? Or against us?”, Madison questioned as she caught the eye-line of her daughter. Alicia was nervous of losing her mother, they had all just lost Travis due to the man they call Walker, and now Madison is about to go to a Helicopter which he supposedly shot down. At Madison’s statement Alicia shook her head, she knew deep down her mum was right- This was the right decision to make. The ranch needed someone to stand up and so she did to prove her loyalty to the Ottos. “They’re waiting Mum”, Nick called out, disrupting the moment between Madison and Alicia, and so Madison brought her daughter into a tight and warm embrace. If there was to be a conflict during her scout Madison felt confident, she was with men which were highly trained and on top of that she trusted her own ability.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they reached the group of Militia Nick’s eyes immediately fell on Troy out of habit of looking out for the man. However, Coop was the first to acknowledge the Clark’s presence and beamed a smile towards their direction. “I take it you’re ready Madison”, Coop called out and immediately Troy snapped his head round to look onto the newcomers and his smile faltered as he made eye contact with Nick. “Yeah, I’m ready to go”, she responded as she greeted the group, “I take it I’m riding with you Troy”, she recalled and Troy nodded in response, “Of course, can’t have you being left in the hands of Coop or Harry”, Troy joked before turning to his dune buggy. “We’ll be taking her so strap your kit in the trunk beside mine. If you like your belongings I advise making sure the straps are tight”, Troy continued as he grabbed a prepared kit bag from the table and offered it to Madison. “Just add anything you want to bring to that, and you should be all good to go”, Troy stated. Immediately Madison took the bag from Troy and smiled in the way of the young man, “Thank you Troy, I’ll try to make sure the straps are tight. But if your bag goes missing, it isn’t my fault as I made no promises”, Madison teased before turning to the vehicle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Throughout the whole encounter Nick still kept his watch on Troy, however he hadn’t missed the fact that Mike had chosen to sit in the truck instead of be outside with the other man. This fact made Nick smile inwardly, he had created a bridge between the two men without barely lifting his finger. The second Madison was distracted by putting her kit in the vehicle Nick turned to Alicia as subtly as possible and leant towards her ear, “Distract Coop for me, and I’ll explain later”, he whispered into his sister’s ear before looking back to her expectantly, “Ugh fine… But you better not be lying”, Alicia muttered before approaching the older man. At this point Troy was looking at the map which was laid on top of the hood of Coop’s truck. Nick approached the man until he stood beside Troy and looked at the map alongside him. “Have you thought about what I’ve said?”, Nick asked as he kept his eyes fixed on the map between them. “How could I not?”, Troy muttered giving Nick a side glance every now and then. “Protect my mum and you’ll be fine”, Nick stated plainly. “He won’t even look at me because of you”, Troy hissed as he pinned down Nick with his cold stare that Nick has come to custom with. “It isn’t my problem if there’s trouble in paradise Troy”, Nick deadpanned as he squared up his body to face Troy’s, “But you caused this”, Troy spat as he also turned to face Nick. “Do your job Troy, if you don’t… I’ll offer you some advice, don’t bother returning”, Nick threatened, immediately Troy’s expression had softened, he looked worried and that pleased Nick. It was better to have Troy worried sick over protecting his mum then not giving two shits about anyone apart from himself. “Good boy”, Nick praised and the flush that crept up Troy’s neck was enough for Nick to make him pleased with himself. He didn’t know what came over himself to say such a thing, but he said it, and the reaction that it drew out of Troy was something to behold. He left Troy at the truck and went back to retrieve Alicia from Coop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Nick approached Alicia the first thing he noticed was the fact that they were talking about someone in a very ‘hush hush’ manner. She looked shocked- almost worried… but why? That’s when Coop mentioned a name he recognised straight away, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ofelia...</span>
  </em>
  <span> , what has she done? Why is he talking about her. As Nick crept closer he could hear their conversation clearly, “Troy said she’s a liar, lied straight to his face she did”, Coop explained, and suddenly Nick now understood why Alicia looked so shocked-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s lied</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What are you planning Ofelia? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He asked himself, he knew Troy, the boy could not be trusted, but if he sensed someone was lying, then you’ll be stupid to trust whoever he accused. He was highly intelligent when it came to reading a person’s mannerisms, he was probably the sole reason why the ranch still stood. No one with an appreciation for their life fucked with Troy Otto, he was a bull in a china shop, he brought along death and destruction along to anything he was involved in. In the old world he was probably a monster, but in this world? In this world he’s a hero to the ranch. Nick saw that. Nick respected him for that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Coop! Ready to go?”, Troy called out to the group, immediately both Coop and Alicia snapped round to the direction Troy called from. “Yeah I’ll come over right now”, Coop called back before bidding his farewell to both Nick and Alicia. “You heard that didn’t you?”, Alicia asked Nick, “I heard him say she’s a liar”, Nick recalled as he stood closer to his sister so their conversation remained private. “You’ve been with her most of the time she’s been here. Have you noticed anything?”, Nick questioned as he looked up to the infirmary trying to grab a trace of Ofelia anywhere in the ranch. “No!- I mean well… I don’t know. Something is off about her, but other than that hunch I have nothing”, Alicia emphasised before letting out a groan. “We just have to keep an eye on her, yeah?”, Nick stated, “And when I say ‘we’-.... I mostly mean you”, Nick continued earning many complaints from Alicia. “What do you mean? Only me?!”, Alicia exclaimed, “I’m already watching Troy and Luciana!”, Nick argued and immediately Alicia leant away from Nick as she crossed her arms across her chest. “So… Where is Luciana right now? Like… I mean right this second. No thinking time, where is she?”, Alicia questioned causing Nick to protest this time, “Well I’ve had to deal with this scouting mission bullshit!”, Nick exclaimed causing Alicia to narrow her eyes onto her brother. “What do you mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>dealt with it?”, she asked and immediately Nick chose this moment in time to be perfect to show off his impression of a goldfish, before finally giving in to his sister. “Fine.. I’ve got a deal with Troy... and he's said he's going to protect her”, he explained slowly and the face Alicia pulled was close to priceless- It was a mixture of pure disbelief and wonder. “What do you mean you’ve gotten him to protect her? Him?? HIM?? What could you possibly have that he wants?!”, Alicia pushed further as she failed to wrap her head around the idea. However, all Nick did in response to her question was smile before simply stating,“A good Salesman never sells his secrets”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back down at the ranch’s entrance Coop had finally rejoined the group of Militia and Madison, “Good luck”, Coop joked to Madison as he walked past her to approach his own truck with Mike, immediately Madison turned to Troy with a sense of confusion. “What does he mean by that?”, she asked with a slight laugh. “He’s just not a fan of my music”, Troy shrugged before smiling cheekily, “Before we go- What damage are you holding?”, Troy asked as he stood in front of her. “I have my gun and-”, Madison lifted the bottom of her shirt to reveal the knife that laid tucked in her belt,”-a little something special”, she stated and Troy chuckled lightly to himself. “I like your style”, he joked before turning to climb into the dune buggy, “Come on, jump in”, he pushed as he looked back to Madison expectantly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This was it. It was now or never</span>
  </em>
  <span>, hesitantly Madison followed Troy and found herself in the passenger seat of the caged vehicle. “Relax. This is meant to be fun”, Troy instructed as he beamed a smile in Madison’s direction. Even with his face battered his boyish charm did not fail to shine through. However Troy’s attempt to relax Madison failed miserably the second he started the engine of his vehicle to have heavy metal music blasting through the speakers. “Let’s go boys”, he called through the vehicle’s radio before giving Madison one last smile as he pulled away from the ranch.</span>
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